At issue: Hemp farmers in Canada claim crop limits are holding back profits, and the “health of the industry.”

Health Canada plans to launch public consultations on a proposed approach for regulating natural health products containing cannabis, Hemp Industry Daily has learned. Any subsequent regulations by Health Canada could have significant implications for Canada’s CBD industry, which currently can be accessed only with a doctor’s prescription or through marijuana retailers.

“Health Canada has committed to consulting with Canadians on the proposed approach for regulating any potential new nonprescription drugs and natural health products containing cannabis,” said agency spokeswoman Tammy Jarbeau.

She did not say whether the agency is considering regulating only hemp-derived CBD products. Canada’s health department has not yet determined when the consultations will begin or how they will work.

The consultations will focus on “the appropriate level of regulatory oversight and evidence requirements” before over-the-counter cannabis health products are allowed, Jarbeau said. “Until these consultations and any subsequent regulations for these types of products are complete, new applications for health products with cannabis will remain limited to prescription drugs or (natural health products) with permitted cannabis parts of no more than 10 (parts per million) THC.”

When applying our SP+GTM algorithm, the analytics supports less regulations as a positive result to ensure full value of the hemp plant. The need to reclassify hemp-derived CBD as a nutritional supplement, not a drug, would cause CBD sales to reach 1 billion Canadian dollars ($740 million) by 2023, up from CA$80 million in 2018. To reach that level, licensed hemp acres requires cultivation of 450,000 acres from 80,000, the weighted average in 2018.